Spring-frame bicycle.



Nb. 740.554. PATENTEDOGT. 6, 1903. J. H. GUILEY, J. H. PIERCE & J. E. WRIGHT.

SPRING FRAME BICYCLE.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 5. 1901. N0 MODEL. 2 sums-sum 1.

WITNESSES: JNVENTORJ d. M- y 6 swm ATTORNEK No. 740,554. v PAIENTED 0016,1903. J. H. GUILEY, J: H. PIERCE & J. E. WRIGHT.

SPRING FRAME BICYCLE.

grrmouqxon FILED MAR. 5. 1901.

N0 MODEL.

' 'mvemoas" WITNESSES 1 ATTORNEY THE roams PUERS c: Puoraumou wasumsrou. n;

UNITED STATES Patented October 6, 1903.

PATENT OFFICE.

. JACOB H. GUILEY, OF SAGINAW, AND JAMES H. PIERCE AND JAMES E.

WRIGHT, OF WEST BAY CITY, MICHIGAN.

SPRING-FRAME BICYCLE.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 740,554, dated October 6, 1903. Application filed March 5, 19OL Serial No. 49,938. (No modelL) T0 all whom it may concern.-

Be it known .that we, JACOB H. GUILEY, residing at Saginaw, in the county of Saginaw, and JAMES H. PIERCE and JAMES EWRIGET, residing at West Bay City, in the county of Bay, State of Michigan, citizens of the United States, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Spring-Frame Bicycles; and we do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the all jar or Vibration in the joints, which might otherwise rattle when they become worn. Our improved construction is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l is a side elevation of part of a bicycle frame embodying our improvement. Fig. 2 is a front view of the seat-post tube and the side bars. Fig. 3 is a vertical section of the upper end of the seat-post tube.

As is clearly shown in the drawings, the improved construction comprises side bars 1, made of strips of flat metal,preferably springsteel. These strips are preferably of even thickness throughout their length, but are wider at the bottom than at the top, having a gradual upward taper. The lower ends of the spring-bars l are firmly secured by riveting, brazing, or other suitable means to a lower tube 2, which is of D -section. The lower end of the short tube 2 is rigidly brazed to the hub 3. The rear radius-rod & is also rigidly fixed to the hub by a brazed joint 5. Thus the angle between the tubes 2 and 4 is constant when the seat-post and crank-ban ger to reduce the cost of manufacture.

move vertically, there being no movement of these rods about the hub, as in our previous construction. This arrangement permits us to greatly simplify the hub construction and It also produces a further important advantagenamely, it causes the strips 1 to bow or bend slightly in a direction parallel to the plane of the frame when the seatpost and crankhanger move up and down. This is obvious from the fact that the crank-hanger in vibrating does not move along the center line of the seat-post tube, but moves in a short vertical arc described about the rear end of the radius-rod 4 as a center. The upper ends of the strips 1 are pivoted to the seat-post 6,

which is vertically movable, being yieldingly supported by a spring 6 or equivalent means within the seat-post tube 7, as is shown in Fig. 3. The springing or bowing of the strips 1, as above noted, although prefer ably slight, in practice produces a fore-andaft pressure upon all of the joints between the crank-hanger and the pivots at the rear ends of the reach-rods, thus eitectually preventing any tendency to jar or rattle. In

practice we prefer to quarter-twist each bar 1"for a short distance between its ends, so that the sides of the middle portion 1 will lie in a plane parallel with the plane of the bicycle-frame and close to the seat-post tube 7. {This forms a neat, light, and compact arrangement of the side bars 1 which is very cheap in construction and does away with the necessity of using expensive joints at the hub.

What We claim as our invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-- 1. In combination with a bicycle a verti-' ICO their lower ends to the upper ends of the two D-shaped tubes for the purposes set forth.

2. In combination with a bicycle a vertically movable yieldingly supported seatpost; a. crank-hanger separate from the bicycle-frame; a pair of radius-rods pivoted at their rear ends to the bicycle-frame and rigidly secured at their front ends to the crankhanger; a pair of upwardly-extending 'D- shaped tubes rigidly secured at their lower ends to the crank-hanger and two transversely-yielding flat bars, each rigidly secured at its lower end to one of the D-tubes and pivoted at its upper end to the seat-post.

3. In combination with a bicycle a vertically movable yieldingly supported seatpost; a crank-hanger separate from the bicycle-frame; a pair of radius-rods pivoted at their rear ends to the bicycle-frame and rigidly secured at their front ends to the crank-hanger; a pair of D-tubes rigidly secured at their lower ends to the top of the crank-hanger; and two laterally-yielding fiat bars, each of which is rigidly secured at its lower end to one of the D-tubes and pivoted at its upper end to the seat-post, the middle portion of each of said bars being bent at right angles to its upper and lower ends, and lying in a plane parallel to the bicycle-frame.

4. In combination with a bicycle a vertioally movable yieldingly supported seatpost; a crank'hanger separate from the bicycle-frame; a rearwardly-extending member pivoted at its rear end to the bicycleframe and rigidly secured at its front end to the crank-hanger; and an upwardly-extending spring member adapted to yield in a plane parallel to the plane of the bicycle, said spring member being rigidly secured at its lower end to the crank-hanger and secured at its upper end to the seat-post.

In testimony whereof we affix our signatures in the presence of two witnesses.

JACOB H. GUILEY. JAMES H. PIERCE. JAMES E. WRIGHT.

Witnesses:

GEo. B. WILLcoX, I. GOULD. 

